Thill or draft-pole coupling.



PATENTED MAY 3, 1904.

H. TURNER. l THILL 0R DRAFT POLE GOUPLING.

n APPLGATION FILED NOD. G, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

iiimlml /N VE IV TOR .J1/fairy 22m/zel' A TTOHNE YS tra n759,046.

llhviTn STATES Patented May 3, 1904.

PATENT Trice.

THllLl. R DRAFT-POLE COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,046, dated May 3, 1904.

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To n.71 iff/mm. 'it muy concern:

Be it known that li, HARRY TURNER, a subject of the .King oi' Great Britain, and a resident ot Koolunga, South Australia, Australia, have invented a new and Improved Thill or Draft-Pole Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrij'ition.

The object otl the invention is to provide novel simple details o1 construction for a thill or draft-pole coupling which in duplicate at'- toi-ds convenient and reliable means for detachably connecting a pair of shafts or a draftpole to the front axle of a vehicle, which will hohl the thills or pole t'ree to rock in a verti' cal plane, prevent rattling oi the hinged parts, and permit a quick detachment and interchange of the thills or the pole connecting with the front axle of the vehicle without the use ol. tools.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reterenceindicate corresponding1 parts in all the ligures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view ot' the improvement connecting an axle with a thilliron. Fig. 2 is a plan view ot' the same. Fig.

3 is a reversed plan viewotl the coupling secured lupon an axle. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view substantially on the line l 4 in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a transver i sectional view substantially on the line 5 5 in Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a partly-sectional front view showing the spring-lock and latch-hook thereon in opened adjustn'ient.

1n carrying into etlect the features oll invention lf employ as essential but not novel "elements a clip-band 10, that embraces the Aliront axle A and is provided with depending screw-cut bolt members 10, that pass through a transverse clip-plate 10, bearingv on the lower side of the axle and clamped thereon by the nuts 10, that contact with the clip-plate, thus binding the wood and metal portions ot' the axle together, it being understood that two oli such clip-bands and the desired attachments therefor are provided as supports for novel details that will new be described.

Above the front depending' bolt member 10 two similar joint-leaves 11 are lormed integral with the clipband 10 and project forwardly therefrom. Said leaves are spaced apart for the free introduction or' the cylindri'liorm boss 19., that is an integral portion ot' the thill-iron 19., which is aliixed upon the rear end ol a thill or shaft 13 to afford a means for connecting said sha't't or thill with the improved coupling device. The leaves 11 are mainly circular on their edges and project from a vertical front wall on the clipband 10 sul'l'iciently to afford proper clearancespace between the boss 19. and said :front Wall for the insertion and free operation of a novel antirattling device and locking means that is carried upon an end of the hinge pintle-bolt 14, which is loosely insertible in central and alined per'lorations in the leaves 11 and boss 12, as shown clearly in Fig. 5. One end of the pintle-bolt 14 is secured in a llat ear 15, that is an integral member of` the right-angular knee-bracket piece 15, and projects from said ear parallel with the plane of the duplicate ear 15", that is the remaining member of the knee-bracket 15. Upon the ear 15" and contacting with its side that is farthest Yfrom the other integral ear15 one end portion el the flat rockablc bracket-arm 16 is pivoted. Said arm is ol metal, preierabljT shaped as shown in Figs. 1, 5, and 6, having an angularly-concaved lower edge and a correspondingly angular convex upper edge, which adapts the bracket-arm when the pintle-bolt 14' is inserted in the leaves 11 to project diagonalljT upward and toward the nearest leat` 11, as at 16, and thence across and above both leaves, terminating at its opposite or free end in a short depending tlat shank 16", on the lower end ot' which is formed a thumbpiece 16, which projects forward therefrom at the outer side ol" the nearest joint-leafl 11.

Upon the shank 16h an end portion ot' a latch-hook 17 .is lapped and pivoted, as at (t, said latch-hook beingshaped as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the hook-nose 17 o1 this llat plate-like latch-hook having contact with the lower surface oi' the adjacent leaf 11 when the bracketarm 16 and latch-hook 17 are together rocked :into interlocking engagement with the jointleaves 11, as shown in Figs. 11, 2, 3, and 5 ot' the drawings.

lt will be seen that the adjustment of the gagement is enforced by the provision of the i keeper-spring 18, that retains the bracket-arm in folded adjustment and also cushions the jar sustained by the hinged connection in;

service. The keeper-spring 18 is formed of a strip of resilient plate metal having proper width and length and is given looped form by bending the material {'latwise so as to give it a nearly semicircular shape where it is bowed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The end portion 18 of the spring 18, that is designed for contact with the vertical wall of the clip-band 10 between the leaves 11, is extended nearly straight from the bowed portion of the same, and this member 18 is secured upon the rear side of the bracket-arm 16 at a point which will permit the free downward insertion of the spring member 18 between the leaves 11.

From the forward downwardly-curved portion of the keeper-spring 18 the end portion 18" is extended and preferably curved to conform in shape with the cylindric contour of the boss 12, on which said member 18b seats, the extremity of the latter extending from the curved portion thereof substantially parallel with the member 18 when the keeperspring is in position for service.

To adapt the improvement for effecting the coupled engagement of a pair oi thills with the clip-bands 10 on the axle A, the bosses 12 on the pair of thill-irons 12 are introduced between respective pairs of the joint-leaves 11, so as to aline the perforations in the leaves and bosses. The pintle-bolts 14 of the duplicate couplings are each inserted through a pair of the joint-leaves 11 and the intervening boss 12, as is represented in Fig. 6 by dotted lines and full lines in Fig. 5. The bracket-arms 16 on the pintle-bolts are now rocked downward, so as to dispose them transversely and above the pairs of joint-leaves 11, and to eifect this adjustment the free ends of the spring members 18 18 must be introduced between the bosses 12 and the vertical walls that are between the pairs of leaves 11. The downward insertion of the members 18 18 ot' each keeper-spring 18 compresses them toward each other, so that their tensional force is exerted upon a respective boss 12 to prevent the slightest rattling' action in case the pintle-bolts 14 become loose from wear. 1t will be evident that the insertion of the end portions of each keeper-spring 18 must be ef- Afected simultaneously with the downward rocking movement of the bracketarm 16, whereon said keeper-spring is secured, so that when the bracket-arm is properly positioned across the upper edges of the pared jointleaves 11 the members or' the spring' 18 will be fully inserted into the space between the clip-band 10 and the boss 12. The downward folding adjustment of the bracket-arm 16 carries the latch-hook 17 into proper position above the joint-leail 11, that is at the free end of the pintle-bolt 14, which will permit the said hook to be rocked downward and latched beneath said joint-leaf, as shown in Fig. which will secure the pintle-bolt,

` bracket-arm, and keeper-spring in proper adjustment for service. Obviously the release of the thills may be readily effected without the use ot an implement by rocking the latch-hooks 17 upward and then rocking the bracket-arms 16 in the same direction, the iinger-piece 16C affording a convenient projection for gripping the end of the arm to move it upward and away from the coupling device, whereupon the pintle-bolt may be withdrawn and the thill-iron released from the jointleaves 11, which operation being identical for both couplings it is obvious the thills or shafts may be quickly and conveniently removed as occasion may require.

Slight changes within the scope of the invention may be 1nade#as, for example, the spring-keeper piece 18 may be formed integral with the bracket-arm 16 and the shape of the latch-hook 17 may be somewhat altered-without detriment to its eiiiciency. Hence I do not desire to limit the construction of the improved coupling device to the exact forms and proportions of details herein shown, reserving the right to vary therefrom within the spirit of the invention and scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination with a clip-band, two integral joint-leaves thereon, and a boss on a shaft-iron, of a pintle-bolt that engages perforations in the joint-leaves and in the boss, a fiat bracket-arm held to rock at one end upon an end of the pintle-bolt above said bolt and across the joint-leaves, and a latch-hook pivoted upon the other end of the bracket-arm, and adapted for hooked engagement with the lower edge of the joint-leai` toward which the bracket-arm is folded.

2. The combination with a clip-band, two spaced joint-leaves on one side of said clipband, and a cylindriform boss on the end of a shaft-iron, of a pintle-bolt engaging perforations in the joint-leaves and in the boss, an L- shaped knee-piece secured by one member upon one end of the pintle-bolt, aat bracketarm held to rock by one end on the remaining member of the knee-piece so as to dispose it across and above the joint-leaves, and means for holding the bracket-arm folded.

3. The combination with a clip-band having two spaced joint-leaves projected at one side, and a boss on a shaft-iron insertible between said leaves, of a pintle-bolt engaging perforations in the leaves and boss, a bracket-arm held by one end to rock at one end of the pintle-bolt, and a bowed keeper-spring having TOO IIO

two members adapted to occupy a space between the clip-band and the boss and to expand and press upon the boss.

4. The Combination with a elip-band securable on an axle, two spaced joint-1eaves projeeted at one side of the clip-band, and a boss on a shaft-iron having' a eylindre contour and insertible between said leaves, of-a pintle-bolt engaging alined perforations in the jointleaves and in the boss, an L-shaped knee-piece secured by one member on one end of the pintie-bolt, a plate-metal bracket-arm pivoted by one end upon a side oi the remaining meniber oi' the knee-piece so as to rook above and fold near to the upper edges of the joint- HARRY TURNER. Witnesses:

CHARLES ANDREW MURPHY, R. LAw'ioN. 

